Cavalier Men's Tennis Downs Duke 4-0 to Reach ACC Final
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April 17, 2004
RALEIGH, NC – The No. 10 ranked Virginia men’s tennis team advanced to the finals of the ACC Tournament with a 4-0 win over No. 6 Duke Saturday afternoon during semifinal play at the Millbrook Exchange Tennis Center. With the win, second-seeded Virginia (21-3) advances to the finals for the just the second time ever as they look for its first ACC Tournament title.
The Cavaliers took the early advantage, winning the doubles point for a 1-0 lead. The No. 31 ranked team of Rylan Rizza (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) and Nick Meythaler (Owensboro, Ky.) got Virginia started with their 8-5 win over Stephen Amritraj and Jason Zimmerman at No. 1. Duke responded with a win at No. 3, making the match at No. 2 the deciding one. Darrin Cohen (Lafayette, Calif.) and Doug Stewart (Malibu, Calif.) posted a 9-8 win over Phillip King and Peter Shults to clinch the point.
Virginia used that momentum in singles, as they won the first three matches off the court to clinch the match. Stewart, ranked No. 21 nationally, upset No. 5 ranked King in straight sets for the second time in less than a week to give UVa a 2-0 lead. Marko Miklo (Bratislava, Slovakia) extended the advantage to 3-0 as he defeated Zimmerman 6-1, 6-4 at No. 3. Meythaler clinched the match at No. 5 minutes later, as he completed a 6-3, 6-2 with over Chris Brown at No. 5. The other three matches were abandoned.
The Cavaliers will play Clemson in Sunday’s championship. The No. 5 seeded Tigers upset top seed North Carolina 4-2 in Saturday’s other semifinal. Time of the championship match is 11:00 a.m. at the Millbrook Exchange Tennis Center. In Virginia’s only previous ACC Tournament final in 1998, the Cavaliers fell to Duke.
No. 10 Virginia 4, No. 6 Duke 0
Singles:
1. No. 21 Doug Stewart (UVa) def. No. 5 Phillip King (Duke) 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 16 Ludovic Walter (Duke) led Rylan Rizza (UVa) 6-4, 5-6 DNF
3. Marko Miklo (UVa) def. Jason Zimmerman (Duke) 6-1, 6-4
4. Stephen Rozek (UVa) led No. 122 Peter Rodrigues (Duke) 7-6, 2-3 DNF
5. Nick Meythaler (UVa) def. Chris Brown (Duke) 6-3, 6-2
6. Darrin Cohen (UVa) led Peter Shults (Duke) 6-4, 5-6 DNF
Doubles:
1. No. 31 Rizza/Meythaler (UVa) def. Amritraj/Zimmerman (Duke) 8-5
2. Cohen/Stewart (UVa) def. King/Shults (Duke) 9-8
3. Rodrigues/Walter (Duke) def. Rozek/Miklo (UVa) 8-5